Further, the Pope said that it is necessary first of all that the Church should never depart from the sacred patrimony of truth received from the Fathers.

What he was saying was that this Council must re-interpret the affirmations of faith, by saying the same thing but saying it in a different way?

It was to be in a modern and more tolerant way, less dogmatic.

This Council considering the already disparate views of its members was handed an almost impossible task. Pope John XXIII also said the unity of Catholics among themselves, must always be kept exemplary and most firm.

Vatican II with its unholy aftermath was predicted by St. John Bosco in 1862 when he said "There will be an Ecumenical Council in the next century, after which there will be chaos in the Church."

There is no doubt that following Vatican II and quoting Our Lady at Fatima this will be a time of great trials for the Church. Cardinals will oppose cardinals. Bishops will oppose bishops. Satan will walk in their ranks. In Rome, there will be great changes.

What was held to be ecumenism and taught by the church was NOT "let's accept everyone's theology" or "let us all get along" theology.

This is not what was taught by Christ and the Apostles. Lately when most Church hierarchy mention "ecumenism" they mean adapting Catholic teaching to reach a compromise and then praying with or appearing to approve false religions.

The present turmoil within the ranks of the Princes of the Church is not conducive to the catechesis of those outside the Faith; rather it deters those enquiring about the Catholic Church and discourages those who are attempting to guide them.

There are Bishops, including the present Holy Father, who believe that it is no longer necessary to convert Protestants and non-Christians to Catholicism.

There are Cardinals and Bishops who preach that most people will go to Heaven (98% has been suggested), that Christ's miracles were a fabrication, that we should not teach everything that Christ taught, that Holy Communion should be given to those who promote and those who practice abortion, that Holy Communion can be given to non-Catholics, that practicing homosexual persons should also receive Holy Communion and etc.

It would appear to me that if we are to achieve Our Lord's wish expressed in His time of Passion "that they may all be one" we should first understand His Teaching from Luke and Mathew "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and no town or house divided against itself will stand."

Ecumenism must start by bringing together the Bishops of Christ's Mystical Body on earth.

If it is the Pope's wish and primary concern to proclaim the Gospel then it is time that he spent more effort in bringing to heel the errant clergy. In other words, ecumenism should start at home.

• Joe Hannah

Mora will be on hand at Sunday's historic ceremony in St Peter's Square as Pope Francis canonizes both John Paul and Pope John XXIII, the Italian pontiff known as "Good Pope John."

The Costa Rican mother of four faced the world's media to explain how her inexplicable recovery was a miracle that had led to the popular Polish pope being declared a saint.

Two miracles have been attributed to John Paul's intercession with God, paving the way for his sainthood.

In 2011, Mora was suffering from persistent headaches and was told by doctors that her days were numbered. They said her aneurism was in a "delicate" area and her only option was treatment in Mexico or Cuba, but her family could not afford it.

"The doctors told me there was no sense to continue treatment because they had done everything and there was not much more we could do," Mora told a packed media conference.

"They said I only had one month to live and there was no hope."

Confined to bed, she lay holding a magazine with a cover photograph of the Polish pope in her home in Tres Rios de Cartago, 12 miles from the capital of San Jose.

Her husband, Edwin, urged her to pray. Continue reading.

Source: RNS

Image: La Nación

These words have always appealed to me, challenged me and inspired me to try to be a ‘living reflection of the face of Christ'.

I suppose they are words that we could use to describe a saint.

I am sure that when John Paul wrote them in 2001, he would not have dreamed that just a little over 13 years later he would be one of the canonised saints of the church.

On Sunday, two popes of our time will be declared saints, Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II.

In that same letter John Paul wrote of holiness: ‘Holiness, whether ascribed to popes well known to history or to humble lay and religious figures from one continent to another of the globe, has emerged more clearly as the dimension which expresses best the mystery of the church' (NMI 7).

Both popes are being recognised for their holiness and for their incredible contribution to the church.

It is their holiness that tells us something about the church, as does the holiness of people from our families, friends and wonderful devoted and prayerful parishioners. Continue reading.

Archbishop John Dew is archbishop of Wellington, and President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference.

Source:

• Wel-Com
• Image: Catholic Community Network

This year Easter remains the spiritual linchpin, but in popular terms it's more like a warm-up act for next Sunday's double-play canonisations of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II.

This will be the first time two popes have been declared saints in the same ceremony, and although projections vary, well over a million people could turn out in Rome to watch history being made, with millions more following the event on TV or over the Internet.

Here are five things to know about the biggest Vatican happening of early 2014.

First, putting these two popes together amounts to a call for unity between the church's liberal and conservative wings.

In the Catholic street, John XXIII is an icon of the left, remembered as the pope who launched the reforming Second Vatican Council and opened the Church to the modern world.

John Paul II is a hero to the right, the pope who brought down Communism, who fought what he called a "culture of death" behind liberalising currents on abortion and other life issues, and who insisted on strong Catholic identity vis-à-vis secular pressures to water down the faith. Continue reading.

Source: The Boston Globe

Image: Jeunes-Cathos

The revelation comes in a recently published book called the "Diary of a Papist", by author and journalist Gianluca Barile.

The book, full of news and information about the Church and papacy, carries a rumour from Cardinal Francesco Marchisano, a good friend of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, recalling that had Bergoglio been elected he would have taken the name Pope John.

Quoting Cardinal Marchisano, "John, I would have called myself John, like the Good Pope; I would have been completely inspired by him", writes longtime Italian Vaticanista Gianluca Barile.

RNS reports that at the 2005 Conclave to elect a pope, after three rounds of voting, Bergoglio received 40 votes and ran second to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who received 72 votes.

78 votes were required for Ratzinger to be elected by the two-thirds margin.

Again according to RNS, hoping to avoid prolonging the conclave and creating divisions, Bergoglio apparently signalled his supporters not to back him, leaving the way free for Ratzinger to be elected.

In the intervening eight years Bergoglio obviously changed his mind on what name he would take, and instead of being Pope John XXIV he became the first Pope Francis in history.

With only one miracle attributed to John XXIII, Pope Francis, in April, will canonise John XXIII.

Sources

• LaStampa
• RNS

"Then he'll die as my secretary," replied the future pope, now known as Blessed John XXIII.

Today, at age 98, now-Archbishop Capovilla has outlived his employer by half a century and remains an indefatigable custodian of his legacy, running a small museum dedicated to Blessed John's memory in the late pope's native town of Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII, about 25 miles northeast of Milan.

On Feb. 22, Pope Francis is scheduled to make the archbishop the world's oldest living cardinal. Continue reading.

Source: National Catholic Reporter

Image: Cardinal-elect Capovilla in the museum dedicated to Blessed John XXIII in Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII, Italy, in February 2012 CNS/Paul Haring

No one has to be reminded about the life of Pope John Paul II. He was dramatically on the scene until less than a decade ago. While he was here on Earth, he accomplished wonders as he moved around the planet calling people to faithfulness and the world to peace.

Pope John XXIII had served earlier and his life ended in 1963.

His election was a surprise.

It followed the long reign of Pope Pius XII and most likely the cardinals were looking for someone who would not be in office too long.

There were extraordinary, new forces swirling around our battered planet: Eastern Europe was controlled by the Communists. The so-called Third World was trying to do a balancing act between the United States and its Allies and the Soviet Union.

The Cardinals elected a man who was 77-years-old.

They were right on one thing. It was a short pontificate.

He led the Catholic Church for just five years but he was both a leader and a visionary.

As a young man, Pope John had served as a soldier in the Italian Army in the First World War.

After becoming a priest, he was assigned to the Papal Diplomatic Corps and served in a number of important but difficult spots in the Balkans.

He was Papal Ambassador to France and then was appointed as a Cardinal Archbishop of Venice and then in 1958, he was elected to be the 261 Successor of St. Peter.

The world immediately fell in love with this venerable Holy Pontiff.

He was relaxed, down to earth and mixed easily with every strata of society.

He never forgot his roots. Continue reading

Image: Salt and Light TV

Papal spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said both canonisations could take place before the end of this year, and Vatican journalists are speculating that both pontiffs could be declared saints at the same ceremony, an event that would bring huge crowds to the Vatican.

Church rules for beatification and canonisation ordinarily require the confirmation of two miracles — one before a candidate is beatified and a second subsequent miracle to qualify for canonisation.

But in the case of "Good Pope John", who convened the Second Vatican Council in 1962, Pope Francis used his authority to dispense with the requirement for a second miracle.

The original miracle due to John XXIII's intercession was the cure of an Italian nun with internal bleeding from ulcers, who was close to death after having three-quarters of her stomach and her spleen removed.

The decision to canonise John Paul II — whose funeral in 2005 rang with chants of "Santo Subito!" (Sainthood now!) — will mean his sainthood is recognised a little more than eight years after his death, faster than for any other person in the modern era.

The first miracle attributed to John Paul II concerned the healing of a French nun from Parkinson's disease, an ailment that also affected the late pope.

The second miracle, now accepted by Pope Francis, involved the healing of a Costa Rican woman whose brain aneurysm disappeared after she prayed to John Paul II.

Floribeth Mora told reporters in San Jose, Costa Rica, that her family built an altar to John Paul II outside her house, and while she was watching the late pope's beatification in 2011 she picked up a magazine and, while looking at a photo of the pope, started to hear a voice.

"It said, 'Get up, don't be afraid,'" Mora said. She stood up and felt instantly better, and a variety of medical exams revealed that her aneurysm had simply disappeared.

Mora showed reporters photos of her brain taken before and after the purported miracle.

Sources:

National Catholic Reporter

Associated Press

Benedictus

Image: St Louis Review

What was not expected in today's announcement, which came during a meeting with the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, was the approval of the canonization of Blessed John XXIII, whose process seemed to have languished in the past few years. Still more surprising was the news that the Pope had waived the standard second miracle. Federico Lombardi, SJ, the papal spokesperson, explained, "Despite the absence of a second miracle, it was the Pope's will that the Sainthood of the great Pope of the Second Vatican Council be recognized." Fr. Lombardi noted that of course the pope has the authority to "dispense" with that requirement, and also added that there had been discussions among theologians and experts about whether two miracles were needed for beatification and canonization. As ever, Pope Francis surprises. (Perhaps John XXIII's second miracle was the election of Francis.)

The two popes appeal to a wide variety of Catholics. John Paul's popularity seemed only to grow as his papacy continued, and has remained strong among Catholics since his death. A man of firm faith, a tireless evangelist, and a strong foe of both communism and poverty, John Paul II became, much as he might dislike the use of the word, a religious rock star. Continue reading

Sources

• America
• Image: Fr Z's blog

Fifty years on, John's vision has begun to be realized. Human rights have become a major factor in international law and diplomacy. Transnational agencies have proliferated to deal with global problems and emergencies. Global governance has begun, albeit imperfectly, to become a reality. Universal jurisdiction for crimes against humanity has become a reality and longtime practitioners of nuclear brinksmanship, like Henry Kissinger and George Schultz, now call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

As the church commemorates the 50th anniversary of "Pacem in Terris," Pope John's prophetic vision has affected world affairs by promoting human rights and strengthening global governance. Though a great deal remains to be done, the world has changed considerably in directions Pope John would have approved. Continue reading

Sources

• America
• Image: Pax on both houses

It is made up of certain portions of the diary of Cardinal Roberto Tucci (in the photo), at the time the director of "La Civilta Cattolica."

And it was precisely this magazine of the Jesuits of Rome - on the basis of these diary entries - that opened its latest issue with the account of the five conversations that Tucci had with Pope John XXIII between 1959 and 1962, or the announcement and beginning of Vatican II.

"La Civilta Cattolica" is a very special magazine. Before it is printed, its articles undergo inspection by the Vatican authorities, who sometimes approve them, other times modify them, and still others scrap them.

With Pius XII, it was the pope himself who reviewed the articles. John XXIII passed this burden on to his secretary of state.

But he continued to meet with the director of the magazine. Who afterward wrote about each conversation in his diary.

The diary of Fr. Tucci therefore provides a very up-close description of how John XXIII approached the Council that he had proclaimed. Continue reading

Image: Clerical Whispers

"There will never be a Pius XIII": to understand the meaning of Jean Guitton's phrase, the radical "renewal" triggered in the Church by the Second Vatican Council needs to be taken further as the book "Il segreto dei papi" ("The Popes' secret") by Bernard Lecomte, currently editor in chief of Figaro magazine and former world affairs editor for La Croix (San Paolo publishers, 250 pages, Euro 16).

A moving episode inspires the birth of the meeting. On 23 September 1962 John XXIII was reaching the end of his spiritual retreat in the oratory of Torre San Giovanni (Southern Italy) two steps away from the apostolic palace, when his doctor asked to see him. During those final days, the elderly Pope underwent some tests with utmost confidentiality. The test results showed there was no hope and confirmed his suspicions about his health. He was a goner. It was certain he would not see it through to the end of the Council. He had nothing to lose. Pope John XXIII sat at his desk on the third floor of the Apostolic Palace and started to write the speech he was going to give on 11 October, the day of the inauguration of the Second Vatican Council, in St. Peter's Basilica. He just reeled it off, without any notes. And without any assistance, except from an abbot who took care of the text's translation into Latin.

The work John XXIII did to explain that the Council must allow the Church to "dedicate itself resolutely and fearlessly to the task which our times require", was all his own, the writer says. Roncalli severely criticises "the prophets of misfortune" that surround him and affirms that the Church "prefers to use the medicine of charity instead of taking up the weapons of severity." Roncalli wrote without fear. The "good Pope" intentionally and confidently presented a vision of the Catholics of the future. Read more

Sources

• Vatican Insider
• Image: salt + light blog

On January 25, 1959, the newly elected Pope John XXIII invited 18 cardinals from the Vatican bureaucracy to attend a service at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. He told them he planned to summon a global church council. The horrified cardinals were speechless, which the Pope mischievously chose to interpret as devout assent.

But, in reality, the Vatican bureaucrats, known as the Curia, were aghast. The Pope, 77, had been elected purely as a caretaker, but here he was indulging a novel, unpredictable, dangerous and, above all, they believed, unnecessary notion.

In their view it would create ungovernable expectations and might even lead to changes. And if there were to be changes - always undesirable - then the Curia would manage them without any outside intervention, as they had for centuries.

They regrouped and fought back. If they could not avoid the council, then they would control it. They proposed 10 commissions controlled by Curia members to run the council, which would discuss 70 documents prepared by the Curia. Everything was designed to reinforce the status quo.

The Curia were right to worry. What Pope John unleashed, now known as Vatican II, was the most momentous religious event since Martin Luther launched the Protestant Reformation 450 years earlier.

"It was a revolution," says American theologian John Markey. "It was the most fundamental shift in self-understanding by the church in 1500 years. It is not over yet."

The winds of change proved more like a tornado, leaving almost nothing untouched. It is difficult for people under 60 to grasp how radical, how wide-ranging and how deep the effects were because they do not remember the church as it was before the council - "frozen in a time warp", as Jesuit priest Gerald O'Collins told The Age. Read more

Sources

• The Sydney Morning Herald
• Image: Church of the Good Shepherd

"I would say what struck me about it was how modern it is and how in tune it is with modern thinking," Wales told CNA.

Wales, who is not a Catholic, is in Rome as a guest of the Vatican's Pontifical Council of Social Sciences to explore the legacy of the nearing 50 year old encyclical on global peace.

Wales, read the papal document for the first time last week.

"You have the impression that the Catholic Church is quite old fashioned which it is of course, in many ways, but also that some of the thinking (in the encyclical) is quite up-to-date and quite modern, so I think that is a great thing."

"Pacem in Terris," whose name means "Peace on Earth," was published on April 11, 1963. Pope John XXIII wrote it at a time when he knew he was terminally ill, and it is often described as his "last will and testament."

He died two months after its release.

The document's overarching theme is the "tranquility of order" in society as a foundation for global peace.

The work had great influence and is the only papal encyclical to be published in full by the New York Times.

Sources

• CNA
• Wikipedia - Pacem in Terria
• Image: Bernard Safran Paintings

50 years on, we gather to celebrate as Catholics, confident that the gifts of the Spirit will assist us in proclaiming the Good News to each other, to our fellow believers, and to our fellow citizens no matter what their religious beliefs or none. Let's recall that it was the week of Christian Unity in 1959 when John XXIII gathered with a small selection of his cardinals in the Benedictine chapterhouse beside the Basilica of Saint Paul-Outside-the-Walls when he said, 'I am prompted to open my mind and heart to you, because of this feast of the Conversion of St Paul. I want to tell you frankly about several points of planned pastoral activity which have emerged in my thoughts because of my brief three months here within these church circles in Rome. In doing so, I am thinking of the care of the souls of the faithful in these modern times.' Continue reading

Sources

• Frank Brennan SJ in Eureka Street
• Image: Caput Mundi

Born into a peasant family, one of 13 children, he wore hand-me-down clothes until he was in gradate school. He was unabashedly human. He smoked cigarettes, drank wine and enjoyed eating.

He was elected pope at the age of 77 in 1958 and convened the Second Vatican Council.

It is the ecumenical council that is still changing the church today.

In his opening speech at the Second Vatican Council, Pope John said that he "preferred the medicine of mercy to that of severity." He practiced that throughout his life as a Christian, a priest, a bishop and as pope.

The Italians called him "good Pope John." Protestants and Jews alike loved him. During the Second World War he saved many Jews from being killed by the Nazis in the concentration camps. The Jewish community considers him a righteous gentile for this work.

He had a great sense of humor. Once, when he caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror, he murmured with a chuckle, "Lord this man is going to be a disaster on television."

Blessed Pope John's sayings provide a model by which to live one's faith life. Just listen to them:

• "See everything, overlook much, correct little."
• "There would be no pagans if we all lived like real Christians."
• "Christian faith is this: serenity and inner calm while offering oneself to God."
• "A day without prayer is like a sky without the sun, a garden without flowers."
• On the occasion of his installation as pope, he said: "The secret of everything is to let yourself be carried by the Lord and to carry the Lord."

From St. Peter to Pope Benedict XVI, there have been 265 popes; 78 of them are saints, and Pope John Paul II's beatification brought to 11 the number of popes known as blessed.

With all those holy popes — including the first 35 bishops of Rome — it would seem that the beatification of Pope John Paul could not set any records or be a first of any kind.

Yet his was the quickest beatification since 1588 when the modern sainthood process, regulated by the Vatican, began. Many of the "blessed" popes were beatified on significant anniversaries of their death like Blessed Victor III, who died in 1087 and was beatified in 1887, or Blessed Urban V, who died in 1370 and was beatified in 1870.

Pope John Paul received the recognition six years and 29 days after his death. His process was shorter than the beatification process for Mother Teresa of Kolkata by about two weeks.

Both causes benefitted from a papal exemption from the Vatican rule that five years must pass between a person's death and the opening of his or her sainthood cause.

Pope John Paul set the precedence by waiving the five-year waiting period for Blessed Teresa's cause; Pope Benedict set aside the waiting period for Pope John Paul's cause.

In newspapers, on television and on blogs leading up to the May 1 ceremony, the short time lapse between Pope John Paul's death and his beatification became a topic of debate. The "pro" side generally argued that the late pope's holiness was so clear to so many people that the Vatican had to respond to the "sensus fidelium," the sense of the faithful. The "con" side tended to argue that an acclamation of holiness needs to stand the test of time and six years just isn't enough.

In the causes of both Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul, the Vatican said the waiting period was the only part of the normal process that was skipped. Eyewitnesses — including those with doubts — were interviewed, writings were studied, a massive biography was prepared and the Vatican looked for miracles to confirm that both were in heaven and able to intervene on behalf of the faithful.

Interestingly enough, though, both causes benefitted from some streamlining of the sainthood process ordered by Pope John Paul in 1983. Instead of two miracles for beatification and two more for canonization, he reduced the number of miracles needed to one for each step.

Read more of Pope's not being automatic saints